49 posts categorized "NL West"

Games 1 and 2 of the 2010 NLCS on FOX posted strong gains over the weekend averaging a 4.7/8 household rating/share (7.9 million viewers), +27% better than the first two games of the 2009 NLCS on TBS (3.7/7, 5.8 million viewers). In addition, this weekend’s postseason baseball on FOX is up +15% vs. games 1 & 2 of the 2008 NLCS on FOX (4.1/8, 6.2 million viewers).

Game 1’s pitching showdown between Roy Halladay and Tim Lincecum scored big in prime time for the network by posting a 4.3/8 (7.1 million viewers), FOX’s best Saturday prime average since last year's Game 3 of the World Series on 10/31/09. Game 1’s average audience was up +4% from last year and the 4.3 rating is flat with last year’s NLCS Game 1 on TBS.

Led by Week 6 of the NFL on FOX doubleheader slate that featured a back and forth battle between the Cowboys and the Vikings, NLCS Game 2 on Sunday night produced a 5.3/9 (8.8 million viewers) for the network up +83% over last year’s NLCS Game 2 on TBS (2.9/7, 4.4 million for PHL-LAD), and up +56% over 2008’s 3.4/8 for NLCS Game 2 on FOX (5.0 million, PHL-LAD).

Philadelphia led all markets with a sensational 33.9/47 for Game 2 and a 26.0/43 for Game 1 while San Francisco scored a 22.2/40 for Game 2 and 20.5/45 for Game 1.

Manager Charlie Manuel was entertained by the whole thing, and couldn't even pretend to be annoyed at Oswalt for blowing by Perlozz's orders to stop.

"After he ran the bases, what the hell are we going to do, rope him?" Manuel said. "I ain't that good. I'm not a cowboy. I might look like one, talk like one, but I'm not one."

Perlozzo took it in stride after the game, but said he's going to have a chat with Oswalt about how risky that move was --- both physically for him and risky offensively for the team.

He could have gotten hurt sliding into home and had he been out, if the had played out the same the rest of the way, Ryan Howard's strikeout would have been the third out of the inning and Jimmy Rollins never would have come to the plate and hit his three-run double.

The inning would have then ended with the Phillies having scored no runs instead of three. They would have been up 2-1 at the end of the seventh instead of 6-1.

"I'm gonna talk to him," Perlozzo said. "There’s been times when I’ve held people that the baserunner has a better read on the ball. This wasn’t one of them though I don’t think. I was really happy he was safe. There’s no question about it. We’re at a critical point in the ball game and I figured it was gonna be bases loaded and we could break it open somehow. It was a situation that if he’s out, we very well could have blown that whole inning. Sometimes things work out for him and sometimes they don’t. Tonight it did."

OFF TO THE WEST COAST

I'm heading to the airport at 5:45 a.m. for a 7:45 flight. I'll try to blog from the airport. If not, you can definitely catch me later in the day.

Charlie is talking at 1:45 p.m. West Coast time, so you guys can start looking for Tweets on Twitter (@inthephilshouse) after 4:45 p.m. East Coast time.

I saw the Phillies score an unearned run in the first inning on a bases-loaded walk.

I watched Jonathan Sanchez throw 35 pitches in the first inning that prompted his manager, Bruce Bochy, to get someone up and throwing in the bullpen.

I watched this one in amazement....Jimmy Rollins hit a routine pop-up in the fourth inning that a Little Leaguer could have caught, but it was ruled a hit because no Giant infielder even attempted to catch it and it dropped to the ground.

Roy Oswalt had a no-hitter through four innings, but Cody Ross did it again.

After homering twice off Roy Halladay on Saturday, he took Oswalt yard on Sunday to tie the game at 1 in the fifth.

"I wanted to have a right-hander in between [lefties Utley and Howard]," Manuel said.

TONIGHT'S THE NIGHT

Before Saturday night, the Phillies had won their last seven Game 1s in the playoffs. The last time they dropped the opening game of a playoff series was when they lost Game 1 to the Rockies in the 2007 NLDS. They went on to get swept in that series.

And in fact, the Phillies have never bounced back to win a series in postseason play after losing Game 1. Prior to this series, the Phillies are 0-6 all-time in series when losing Game 1.

But Shane Victorino, who coming into Game 2 is hitting .400 (6-for-15) against Giants starter Jonathan Sanchez, has no thoughts of that happening again.

"If we can get our offense going, that's what it's about," Victorino said. "That's what this team's built on. And obviously now our pitching has definitely taken a pedestal to outdo our offense, but if we can get our offense going, I think we'll be a pretty good team."

Manuel said his hitters being patient with Sanchez will be important; he's issued 20 walks to Phillies hitters in 34.2 career innings pitched against them. He doesn't want his guys helping Sanchez by going after pitches out of the zone.

"He's got a real hard slider, and it's a late-breaker," Manuel said. "If you go watch his games, the hitters chase -- especially when he gets ahead of them, they chase his slider a lot, like down, out of the strike zone. And at times, he can get wild. He'll walk some guys during the game, usually around four or five. Maybe even more times. You've got to be patient. But at the same time you've got to get a good ball to hit. If we do that, we'll be fine."

SOME HISTORY FOR THOUGHT

History is not on the Phillies' side IF they lose Sunday's Game 2. Only two of the previous 19 teams to jump out to a 2-0 lead in the NLCS went on to lose the series (the 1984 Cubs against the Padres and the 1985 Dodgers against the Cardinals).

However, the loser of Game 1 has come back to win the series 12 times.The last team to do it was St. Louis in 2006 against the Mets. ... Of those 12 times only three times did the home team lose in the opener: the1977 Dodgers, 1988 Dodgers, the 1990 Reds.

DINGERS

Two Phillies in Sunday's starting lineup are hitless against Sanchez. Raul Ibanez is 0-for-6 in his career and Jayson Werth is 0-12 in his career against the lefty. ... The Phillies are 1-7 in Game 2s in this round of the playoffs. The club's only win came in 2008 at CBP when Brett Myers won an 8-5 decision against L.A. ... Giants hitter Cody Ross became the second player in MLB history to go deep twice in Game 1 of the NLCS, joining Will Clark (1999 Giants), Gary Matthews (1894 Cubs) and Steve Garvey (1978 Dodgers). ... All four Giants starting pitchers in this series were drafted by the club. ... The NLCS has not gone a full seven games since 2006 when the Cardinals beat the Mets. ... Tonight's Phillies starter Roy Oswalt was the only one of the Big 3 to get a win against the Giants this year.

In nine outings (five of which are starts...34.2 innings pitched), he has a 2.86 ERA. He's fanned 40 and allowed just one home run. The Phillies have hit just .175 against him.

"This guy's got good stuff," Phils manager Charlie Manuel said. "We've got to make him bring the ball up. We've got to get balls to hit and see if we can't put some balls in play and score some runs on him."

Shortstop Jimmy Rollins, who is 1-for-15 in the postseason this year, has confidence in his team.

"We’ve got to find a way to win Game 2," he said. "We’ve won on the road, and we’re confident in our offense. We’ve got to find a way to get even tomorrow. We swung better in Game 1 than we did in any game last series, so that’s a positive."

AND PITCHING FOR THE PHILLIES.....

Roy Oswalt takes the mound in Game 2 of the NLCS after hitting a little stumbling block in Game 2 of the NLDS against the Reds. But he’s not letting that affect the way he’s preparing for or thinking about his next start. He has that much confidence in Roy Halladay and Cole Hamels.

“With these guys pitching, you feel if you lose the game, you’re disappointed no doubt, but you feel like the next two games you’re going to win,” Oswalt said.

Manuel doesn’t think Oswalt is hurting in any way or that he’s going through a rough stretch. He just knows guys can’t be perfect, or even fabulous, every time they go out there.

“He’s definitely capable of pitching real good,” Manuel said. “And let me tell you something, our pitchers are human. They’re going to give up some runs sometimes. But if they don’t give up no runs, it’s hard to tell how long I might stay here.”

Oswalt is 6-8 with a 3.61 ERA in 17 career starts against San Francisco. The Giant with most success against Oswalt (minimum 10 at-bats that is on the playoff roster) is Juan Uribe. He is 6-for-16 (.375) with one home run and three RBIs. He’s also struck out five times against Oswalt.

DINGERS: Before Cody Ross homered on Saturday in the third inning off Halladay, the right-hander hadn't given up a hit since Washington’s Adam Dunn led off the eighth inning with a single on Sept. 27, Halladay’s final start of the regular season. … Vice President Joe Biden, who is from Delaware, was at Saturday’s game. ... It was just the eighth time in 34 starts (33 in the regular season) that Halladay had allowed four or more earned runs. ... Coming into Saturday’s game, Lincecum had allowed just two home runs in his previous six starts (42 2/3 innings pitched), and Halladay had given up only two long balls in his previous four starts (31 innings pitched). Both pitchers allowed two home runs on Saturday. ... The Phillies' record of winning seven consecutive postseason Game 1s ended. That record was tied with the Braves for the most consecutive Game 1 victories.

Cody Ross got booed when he came to the plate in the fifth inning thanks to the solo home run he hit in the third.

I guarantee they'll be even louder next time.

Ross hit his second solo home run of the night off Roy Halladay to give the Giants a 2-1 lead in the fith. Ross came into the game hitting just .188 (3-for-16) against Halladay. All three of his hits were singles and he had just one RBI.

Carlos Ruiz cracked a solo shot of his own in the third that had tied the game at 1.

The Phillies managed to get the leadoff baserunner on in three of the first four innings, but were 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position.

The Phils had a great chance in the third inning to tack on more runs, but couldn't get it done. They had runners at second and third for The Big Piece, but he struck out swinging at an 86 mph slider.

Catcher Paul Hoover, infielder Dobbs, and pitchers Danys Baez, David Herndon and Jamie Moyer will travel with the club.

"As far as hitting, I think that's pretty much a wash," manager Charlie Manuel said about Brown and Dobbs. "Domonic, he can be a base runner. You put him in the game in the outfield and he can go play."

I originally thought they might take Dobbs simply because of the injuries Rollins and Polanco have had this year. Polanco was already held out of Game 1 of the NLDS with back spasms and Rollins missed nearly half the season.

But general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said the time off between series factored into the decision.

"That was a factor in it," he said. "They’ve gotten some ample rest. One of the benefits of having some time off is those guys get some time. Jimmy was real close to being 100 percent when we went through the Cincinnati series. This gave him a little more time. Polanco’s gotten more time to rest his elbow. I think that probably had something to do with it. Now, who the hell knows what happens the first inning, first pitch. But it gave us a little more comfort.”

That means that Hamels will make his start at San Francisco's AT&T Park, a place he hasn't fared well at in his career. In four starts, he has a 6.12 ERA there. Opponents are hitting .320 against him in 25 innings pitched.

So, it's set. The Phillies will play the NL Central champion Reds in the NLDS.

The Phillies will be home for Game 1 Wednesday with a 5:07 p.m. start and on Friday they'll play at 6:07 p.m.

Edison Volquez will pitch Wednesday for Cincinnati, who won more than 90 games for the first time since 1999. He didn't face the Phils this season, but lifetime he's 2-0 with a 0.73 career ERA in two starts. He allowed just one run (it was earned) in 12 1/3 innings pitched. In those games, he struck out 16 and walked four. The Phillies hit just .163 against him in those games (he allowed seven hits).

Roy Halladay, making his first postseason appearance, will pitch Wednesday. He leads the NL in strikeout-to-walk ratio at 7.30, and is second to teammate Roy Oswalt in WHIP at 1.04.

I will be on the road for all playoff games (as I was last year), so be sure to keep checking this blog, read the paper and follow me on Twitter @inthephilshouse.